Painting and Printmaking Instructors
Christopher Huffman
First and foremost, Christopher prefers to let his work speak for itself. He is deeply passionate about his craft, particularly when it comes to creating portraits of people, although he holds a special fondness for capturing the essence of pets as well.
Christopher’s goal is to capture not just a likeness but also that elusive quality that defines each individual—the unique light or spark that makes a person who they were. This pursuit of authenticity is at the heart of his artistic endeavors. The joy he witnesses in others when they see their loved ones depicted in his work is an added bonus that fuels his passion.
In addition to painting and drawing, Christopher occasionally ventures into sculpture. He also finds great fulfillment in teaching, relishing the moments when he can see the proverbial light bulbs turn on in his students. This satisfaction became a quiet addiction for him. He has taught drawing and painting classes at Watkins College of Art and Design in Nashville, where he honed his skills by drawing from the Old Masters, life models, skeletons, and antique sculptures.
Originally from Texas, he has made his home in Nashville, Tennessee. His daily routine revolves around his artistic pursuits: painting, reading, writing, and then painting again. Amidst this creative cycle, he also makes time for the essentials of life—breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a shower, several hours of fitful sleep, engaging conversations with friends, and cherished moments with loved ones. However, the call of his art is ever-present, and he often finds himself rushing back to his easel, eager to continue his work.
Lisa Jennings
Artist bio coming soon!
Learn more: lisajenningsart.com/
Shawn Marie Krise
Shawn is a native Nashvillian who’s had a lifelong passion, education, vocation and career in visual art. Her training and education include Memphis Academy of Art, Nashville State Technical Institute for Graphic Arts Certification, and MTSU for a Bachelors in Art Education, TN licensing K-12. Her vocation in art includes exhibits, awards and many commissioned artworks in acrylic, oil, pastel and charcoal, specializing in portraiture. Her career in art includes illustration, design and layout for corporations, ad agencies and printing companies here in Nashville. Early in her career she gained valuable teaching experience creating and facilitating statewide art programs for Girl Scouts of America and Senior Citizen, Inc., indicating a passion for teaching all ages. By the early 2000’s Shawn had started teaching at community art centers and colleges such as Watkins and Centennial Art Center, in addition to teaching Middle School in Rutherford, followed by Wilson, counties. She teaches classes and workshops in acrylic, pastel, and charcoal. Her philosophy on teaching is “meet the student where they are, then provide whatever guidance it calls for, to ultimately liberate that unique artist within.”
Learn more: shawnkrise.com
Hannah Martinez-Garcia
Artist bio coming soon!
Sue Mulcahy
Sue Mulcahy has been a practicing artist and educator for over 45 years. Originally from Buffalo, she received her M.F.A. from Wayne State University, Detroit. Having retired as professor of art at Volunteer State Community College, Sue missed sharing her skills and watching students grow. Her classes at Centennial Art Center, are now a fulfilling outlet for her love of teaching. Her primary medium is drawing with charcoal and mixed media. Her exhibitions include: Frist Museum; Cheekwood Museum; Parthenon Museum; Zeitgeist Gallery. She has also exhibited at the Detroit Institute of Arts; Schuwirth van Noorden Gallery, Maastricht Netherlands; and Deemer Gallery, Louisville, KY. Her classes are structured to teach key skills in both observational and abstract styles, always focusing on each student’s skill level and interests. Her classes are planned to build student confidence through exercises that are both fun and a bit challenging.
Siri Nadler
Siri began her career at age four when she completed a mural on her bedroom wall with red nail polish (much to her mother's distress.) In her tiny grade school in Roosevelt, New Jersey, she was lucky to have after school art lessons with her neighbor, Ben Shahn. Later, she went on to earn a BA and MFA in Graphic Design from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia. She worked as an Art Director for the Discovery Channel and went on to teach graphic design and illustration at Towson University, Watkins College of Art, and Western Kentucky University. Her work has appeared in Graphis Books, and Print Magazine.
After teaching graphic design for twenty five years, Siri began to take watercolor lessons and fell in love again with drawing and painting. Four years later, she developed a class called "Intuitive Watercolor" for people who wanted to discover or rediscover how to play through the use of this gorgeous medium. She taught this class at Sarratt Art at Vanderbilt University, Watkins Community Art, Centennial Art Center and the Nashville JCC. Her philosophy is that everyone has the capacity to be creative and that there is infinite room for discovery.
Sandy Spain
Sandy Spain is a resident of Nashville, Tennessee. She began as a traditional artist, but soon discovered and fell in love with abstract art through the guidance of her mentors, prominent artists Michael McBride and James Threalkill. Sandy painted with them for several years in their studio. She is a full-time artist exhibiting in several juried shows per year. Her paintings are in numerous private collections throughout North America and Western Europe. Sandy teaches an intermediate abstract painting course and an entry-level class for drawing and painting course at Centennial Art Center. She also mentors classes for a local community organization.
Pottery Instructors
Le Dillingham
Le Dillingham is a maker, educator, and lifelong student. Alongside teaching for Watkins College of Art at Belmont University, Le serves as the Studio Manager for Metro Parks Visual Arts. Le holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Loyola University Maryland and a Master of Fine Arts in visual arts from the Watkins College of Art. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Le moved to Nashville in 2020, where she became enamored with the artistic community.
Le’s personal practice is interdisciplinary and casts a wide net, but always returns to an interest in the melancholy and tenderness endemic to humanity. Le often says her work is about “the becoming and undoing of the world as it is lived through the body.” Le had the honor of studying under renowned clay artist Audry Deal-McEver and other local Tennessee makers, and has a developing clay practice of her own. She is deeply devoted to the understanding of art as a language, creativity as innate, accessible, and meaningful to all people, and a pedagogy of humility and equal exchange.
Becca Floyd
After graduating from MTSU in the mid-nineties Becca moved to rural Western North Carolina, where her husband, Mike, worked for the Park Service, and she began to discover the regional history of ceramics. They moved to Asheville and she began a Residency at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts, where she started working with and learning from some of the best potters in North America. She has been a working potter for 25 years and a teacher for almost as long, and remains committed to producing highly decorative, functional, high-fired stoneware and porcelain.
Becca has been teaching regularly for many years, developing skills in conveying new information to students in a direct and interesting way. She has taught classes at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, as well as Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and John C. Campbell Folk School.
Learn more: floydpottery.com
Brooke Gillon
Artist bio coming soon!
Learn more: nonnarosastudio.com
Kristen Parke
A Tennessee native, Kristen completed a degree in Fine Arts (Ceramics emphasis) and Professional Education at Union University. After graduating, she moved to Nashville to teach visual arts in Metro Nashville Public Schools while maintaining a personal practice of crafting functional ceramics in her home studio. She now works remotely in education technology and enjoys teaching ceramics in a studio environment and fostering creative community.
Centennial Art Center Staff
Joshua Wagner
Josh Wagner serves as the Art Center’s Director and Supervisor for Metro Parks’ Visual Arts Division. Josh attended Union University, where he earned his Bachelors of Art (BA) degree with concentrations in photography and ceramics. After graduation, he moved to Nashville where he serendipitously encountered Centennial Art Center. Josh began teaching his own classes at the Art Center in 2003 after taking pottery classes with former instructor, Lena Lucas. In addition to teaching classes, Josh also worked as the Centennial Art Center Gallery and Pottery Studio Manager.
Josh views art as the expression of emotions and concepts – communication without the necessity of words. For him, these concepts come alive in objects, in moments and experiences. For the audience, each take-away is unique because no two individuals see the world exactly alike. Josh adds, “Although no one’s journey is identical, through art, we can construct a series of shared experiences. Art has the power to build community, bridging the gap between people from all walks of life. Let’s go make some art…and build community…together!”
Darreth Walker
Darreth Walker has worked full-time with Metro Parks since 2014, first as a Recreation Leader facilitating various programs in community centers and leading trainings in art and early childhood programming (coining the name “Tot-Time”). Later as a Program Coordinator, she was tasked with re-opening West Park Community Center and eventually helping to create the existing pottery program there today. Currently, Darreth is the Program Coordinator for Metro Parks Visual Arts department.
With a BFA in Ceramics and a M.A. in Counseling Psychology and Art Therapy, her worlds of working with people along with art and creativity were serendipitously coming together again after leaving the mental health field. She has a heart and talent (as well as experience) for working with children and special populations.
She loves animals, the natural world, traveling to foreign places, learning about other cultures, and creating—creating safe spaces for children/vulnerable people and creating artistic manifestations of emotion and imagination using traditional and non-traditional art materials.
Amy Krimsier Sterling
Amy Krimsier Sterling is a landlocked mermaid presently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. She earned her BFA in Animation from the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, and her MA in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Amy creates visual art in a variety of mediums, telling stories and capturing life's many elements through printmaking, ceramics, watercolor, oil, and anything else she can get her hands on.
As an arts educator in Nashville, Amy finds great joy in passing her own inspiration to others and seeks to help others see things in a way they hadn't before. Her greatest desire to is to make waves and then swim in them.